Judge, 1923-08-18 · page 12 of 36
Judge — August 18, 1923 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This is a satirical cartoon about **Luther Burbank**, the famous plant scientist. The joke imagines Burbank crossing a hardy pine tree with "alphabetical noodles" to create living plants that spell out words—essentially nature-based advertisements. The satire targets **commercial overreach**: it mocks how even scientific achievement gets exploited for advertising purposes. By the 1910s-20s (when this appeared in *Judge*), aggressive advertising was increasingly visible and intrusive in American life, so the idea of plants literally growing into permanent ads is absurdist commentary on commercialism's creeping expansion into every domain. The accompanying text discusses boxing figures (Luis Firpo, Ty Cobb) in unrelated sports commentary—typical *Judge* magazine format mixing cartoon satire with sports gossip. The cartoon's humor relies on readers knowing Burbank was a genuine, respected agricultural innovator whose real work was being playfully perverted into a consumerist fantasy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
K Re THIS 12 OUR. Oue WHO, AFTER MANY YEARS HAS FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN OF STUDY AND EXPERIMENT, CROSSING THE SEED OF THE 4 HARDY PINE WITH ALPHABET- ICAL NOODLES. LUTHER BURBANK r fo r os an t THE NET RESULT 15 PLANTED AND, WHEN CAREFULLY, CULTIVATED, i SYSTEMATICALLY v a 4 , iH wl Wa iad Va (VA GROWS INTO PERMANENT,LIVING ADVERTISEMENTL. (\ sledge hammer. Even the wildest Firpo a mad, impulsive, rushing mauler who crash of breaking dishes. For three fan won't try to make you believe that has earned the sobriquet of “the wild rounds Willard) outboxed. Firpo; but Luis knows anything about boxing. He bull of the Pamp: in “the fatal fourth,” as an_ ingenious fights wide open. He knows nothing the fact that he has writer has called it, the bull lowered about blocking punches; like Battling Certainly no love of “science” plays a his head and crashed head-on into the Nelson he is willing to take three blows part in this idols he man most expensive dishes in the place. He > if he can land one. ‘There is something a wallop and this justifies his presence only. vem that time. In the to be said for this For one on earth. He does one thing—a popular sixth, seventh and cighth rounds he Firpo wallop, properly timed and de- thing—well. It is enough. charged again and the familiar ery (or livered, is usually worth five of his Those who love “the fine points of the equivalent) of “Save the pieces!” opponent's. The man hits with the the game” may add, after granting that filled the air. impact of a falling safe. But this alone Firpo has earned his nickname, that |! is not boxing. It brings tears to the when he is pitted against a boxer his )Jo one doubts the popularity of Ty of the discriminating minority who position is that of a rampaging bull— Cobb. He is—and with good rea- like to rave about “the fine points of yes, a “wi ”—in a china shop. son—one of the baseball public’s greatest the game.” But why worry about the of it? He breaks the China, heroes. But Cobb, even at the height minority? The majority have found doesn’t he? And the crowd loves the (Continued on page 24) *~ 10 comicbooks.com